Success is not easy to achieve #success & #leading

Can your personal values be a guideline for the way you lead? YES – they have to in my humble opinion. Values are the core from which you decide how to lead and what decisions you make. I evaluate my personal values every year in a very, very simple way. Basically my core values haven’t changed over the past 15 years as a leader, but I have sure developed my way to dig into them, when it comes to making difficult decisions.

My core values are: freedom, transparency, respect for others, integrity and presence. Nothing special, and yet my personal guidelines for most of my leadership style. Every year I try to rank how well I am able to live up to my personal values – in my personal AND professional life. I also try to evaluate what is stopping me from living out the values. It can be circumstances regarding my job, my Board of Directors, my family or most likely myself. A kind of self evaluation of how well I am able to live up to my own values. It can be an interesting test for most people, I think.

Most years I give myself feedback in the form of things to work at or work with. More and more I get inspiration from people around me, and I try to discuss with them how their values influence on their decision-making. A lot of people do not think about  how much their personal values decide how they live their life and make the decisions they do.  What do you think? Do you think leaders of all sizes and standards should be aware of their personal values and share them openly?

Your attitude means a lot...... #attitude #success

Attitude means everything. If you have the right attitude everything is possible and you can achieve what you want. So why are so few people doing something about their attitude? 

Have you noticed what you can do yourself to change your attitude? I know that if I get a gut feeling that something is not right about my own attitude, then I react to it and thus it becomes a conscious choice if I want - or not - to change my attitude. In a way I know what the feeling triggers and then it is possible to act on it. 

If you know yourself, your friends or your loved one really well, then you can also guide them in this. Most people who are close to you will accept that you react on their attitude, if you are doing it in a thoughtful way.  

Do you have any ideas about this topic that I link to your personal values?  

Be patient and hard-working #sustainablility #leadership

Why have I chosen to be in a leadership position? Quite a few people have asked me that question and I also reply with: I WANT TO MOVE THINGS FORWARD – I want to change the world to be a better place. But am I attracted to the power and influence it gives to be in a leadership position? I guess the answer is YES! Even though I do not strieve for the power and influence in itself - it is part of the equation. With that comes a huge obligation in my opinion. I must be true to myself and my beliefs. I must be able to inspire my fellow colleagues and first and foremost: I must be a good example and lead from within.

When I have to evaluate leaders around me I have a tendency to look for their HR traits. Are they a mover with force, are they into the powertrip (that many leaders arguably are) or are the genuinely interested in other human beings. For me it is a strength that you like other people and treat them with respect irregardless if they are CEO’s,  sales staff or working in a servicedesk. All my colleagues are part of a team and MOST be treated like that. So power & influence should – in my humble opinion – be used  for something good. What is your opinion?

How to develop from conflicts! #leadership & #change

Have you worked in an organization that embraces conflicts as a chance to develop? I have - and it was a great experience. Though an experience that craves trust from top to bottom, which is hard work in ALL organizations. 

I work with a concept based on three types of group dynamics: liquidating, recurrent and developing relations and dynamics. This concept have proved it's worth in a number of organizations and is orginally conceptualized by a company called Scanlead, that I have been so priviledged to work with for more than ten years.  

Basically most organizations have more or less all three types of behaviors, but interesting enough is what you can do if you KNOW what behavior is what. The first two kinds of dynamics is characterized with a stagnant behavior with very little focus on developing relations between the different parts of the organization. Someone is right, and someone is wrong. In both instances you have no real wish to embrace conflicts as a developing platform - if you listn (and I mean REALLY LISTEN) to your colleagues. 

Though in a developing culture inside a company - you listen with the intent of understanding the other party's worry or apprehentions. You acknowledge that there is not one truth, but a possibility of investigating the other possibilities. In a lot of ways I see this also as a cultural thing, but that is a whole different topic for a another blog. 

My point is: working in a culture and an organization that embraces a developing attitude towards conflicts will get ahead of the game. Well, they will even invent their own game. And this kind of company, culture or organization I would like to work in. How about you? Do you listen?

Life...... #happyliving & #life

What kind of philosophy do you have for your life? Are you even thinking about it?

i think life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you are going to get (Forest Gump philosophy). But you can sure influence how you live it - and how you pursue your dreams. If you know your dreams and can visualize what they look like. Research shows that the ability to actually visualize your dreams is a powerful tool - and thus you are more likely to achieve your dreams or goals.  

What are your perspective on life?